A FRIST FINANCIAL SCANDAL?

Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist is facing questions from the Justice Department and the Securities and Exchange Commission about his sale of stock in his family’s hospital company one month before its price fell sharply.

How much does this mean? Beats me. Jonah Goldberg isn’t sure either:

I doubt Frist is so stupid as to do what some allege. But I see nothing wrong with the appropriate agencies investigating Frist’s blind-trust stock sale. If anybody sees a good argument why it shouldn’t be investigated, I’d be curious to take a look. But as far as I’m concerned, it sounds like the right thing to do in a fairly no-brainer way. If he did something wrong the investigation is obviously warranted. If he didn’t, the investigation should clear him. Exoneration is as important a function as conviction.

Ed Morrissey thinks Frist should step down until it’s settled, but Tigerhawk has stock price charts and says the charges against Frist are wrong.

Professor Bainbridge, meanwhile — who specializes in this area of law — has a lengthy and useful post on what’s going on.

Regardless of what happens with this case, it’s the second term of an Administration, so we’ll probably see a lot more of this sort of thing, real or bogus. That’s not all bad: I think that the coming years will be good ones for this book!